Sophomore salvation

Harangody, Jackson pace Irish overtime victory

Harangody, Jackson pace Irish overtime victory

February 01, 2008|TOM NOIE Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- Digesting defeat under the south dome of the Joyce Center is something Notre Dame sophomores Luke Harangody and Tory Jackson have yet to do. They weren't about to test how it tasted Thursday against Providence. Harangody scored a career-high 31 points with 14 rebounds, while Jackson added 14 points and seven assists as Notre Dame won its 32nd consecutive home game, 81-74 in overtime. "That's a heck of a night in the Joyce Center," Irish coach Mike Brey said. "A lot of guys made big plays, but I thought our two sophomores would not let us lose the game. "They made big plays at big times." Harangody seemingly was everywhere the final few frantic minutes of regulation and in overtime. With the Irish down by two and 18.7 seconds remaining, it looked like it all was stacked against the home team's favor. The Friars smothered the ball on an Irish miss before Geoff McDermott tried to pass to a teammate under the Irish basket. Harangody stepped in to swipe it before being fouled. He hit two free throws to tie it at 61, then couldn't remember the last time he was in such a pressure situation from the foul line. It has never happened in his collegiate career. "Player of the year so far, at the halfway point in the league," said Friars coach Tim Welsh, whose team fell to 12-8 overall, 3-5 in the Big East. "He has got my vote. He is terrific, unbelievably good." Harangody hit two more tosses early in overtime, then scored consecutive baskets off feeds from Jackson to extend the Irish advantage to seven. "Coach said we're not going to get beat in here; nobody's going to come in here and take the streak away from us," Harangody said. "We played real smart at the end of the game, we got the game to overtime and that's what we wanted to accomplish." Jackson nearly sent the place up for grabs with a steal in the closing seconds of regulation before his 3-pointer at the buzzer bounced high off the rim. With the Friars looking for the final shot, Jackson swiped the ball near midcourt and had just enough time for a few dribbles and a launch of a shot that looked on line with three seconds to play. Prior to the additional five minutes, Jackson took a little time to compose himself and understand what was at stake. The Irish have not lost a home game in nearly two years, and were on the verge of it before his work late. "I wasn't scared, but I never doubted us, either," Jackson said. "I'm thankful we got through it. We were poised and stayed together." The Irish improve to 15-4 overall, 5-2 and in sole possession of second place in the Big East. Unable to get much going offensively thanks to the Friars' aggressive man defense and outrebounded, 48-38, for the first time at home, the Irish scored 29 points in the final 20 minutes. Notre Dame then hung 20 on the board in overtime. "It wasn't flowing offensively," said Brey, who figured to enjoy the win for all of about 30 minutes before preparations commenced for Saturday's home game against DePaul. "Once we got it to overtime, we were loose again." The Irish had not won an overtime game since Feb. 1, 2003 when they beat Georgetown in double-overtime, 93-92. Notre Dame led by eight points with 7:34 remaining in regulation before going cold with no field goals the final seven minutes. Providence had plenty of chances to fold but never did. Each time the Friars looked finished, Dwain Williams would hit a three, McDermott would race in for an easy basket or Ray Hall would deliver another easy lay-in. "We did everything," Welsh said, "but finish the game." The extra session agreed with the Irish. Rob Kurz opened with a 3-pointer in the corner by the Irish bench to give Notre Dame a 64-61 lead. Following a Williams three, Harangody hit two free throws before Ryan Ayers, who had missed a 3-pointer that would have given the Irish the lead late in regulation, confidently drained a three from the top of the key. Suddenly, Notre Dame was up five, 69-64, with 3:23 remaining. "I missed the first one in regulation that I thought was good and I'm glad I got a second shot in overtime," said Ayers, who had 10 points in 36 minutes off the bench. "I wanted to be aggressive out there and we just wanted to go for it. "I thought we did that."